right now on "andrea mitchell reports" -- is there a doctor in the house? president obama tries to make the case for health care reform -- again. but are americans listening? what about the house republicans? who aren't ready to give up the fight? >> we're refighting these old battles. sometimes i just try to figure out why. woman power. nancy pelosi talks about a woman in the white house. our exclusive interview with the democratic leader. >> you ready for hillary? >> i think the country is ready for hillary. the secretary of state gets an earful from syrian refugees at a camp in jordan.

where are those promised american weapons? >> this is building in to one of the great humanitarian crises on the face of the planet. happy birthday nelson mandela. south africa celebrates his 95th birthday, as do friend and admirers around the world. >> what i know is, his heart was so big and his humanity so great, we often had trouble keeping our official roles apart from our personal friendship. this speaks well of him. and a super bowl ring isn't enough? at the espys last night, it appears that russia's president putin had had his eye on even more sports memorabilia. >> what's happening? hold on? >> looking for something? what is it you americans say?

finders keepers. looking for something patrick kane? say hello to my new super bowl. this is the ring that kobe gave his wife at one time "for no reason." what else we got here? what else? good day. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. is the president's health care plan on life support? republicans keep trying to pull the plug. joining me for our daily fix, chris cillizza and ruth marcus. chris, what is this about health care, the president trying to be out there today, republicans having their votes on the hill yesterday? are we going through this all over again? >> well, look. on republican side, andrea, they are doing this because it is good for their base politics. their base -- the republican base conservatives really dislike this law.

they've gotten new sort of energy with president obama postponing the employer mandate so this is all to say to the base we control one part of this government, we are doing everything we can to get rid of the law. president obama, i feel like we've had the "this time he's really going to sell the law to the american public" conversation. public opinion, if you look at polling, the kaiser foundation has done polling on this almost since its inception. public opinion has been pretty consistent. more people oppose the law than support it. it is, however, the law of the land. i think even republicans don't think it is going to get repealed. i am skeptical because of how much we talked about this and how long we talked about it that president obama can change what looks to me from the outside at least as pretty hardened public opinion about it. >> by 49-37 people were against it in the latest nbc news/"wall

street journal" poll. how does the president change his attitude toward this. we've seen already in california and new york because these are the states with the most complicated regulations that it does save money because perha perhaps -- >> it brings more people in to the pool of insured people, thereby lowering the costs if you bring in more healthy people. the way that you sell this law is with facts showing that it is working or can work, and that's very difficult. this is a law that's much easier to attack than it is to support. this is not a judgment about the merits of the law, which i am a supporter of. but it is very complicated so it is much easier to say socialized medicine going to ruin your existing health care and drive up costs. much harder to explain all the different moving pieces of obama care. >> the other action on capitol hill today, there was a lot of talk about syria. senate arms services committee

and claire mccaskill very much on the defense, angry, angry at the pentagon and angry particularly, chris cillizza, about stories she joined with the committee to take sex assault cases away from the chain of command. she denied it strongly. >> anybody who characterizes me as someone who is protecting the pentagon, that somehow i'm in cahoots with the pentagon trying to hurt sexual assault victims, or -- with all due respect to you guys, i think you're terrific but there is nobody who will be further in front of the line to kick you until you're senseless if we don't get this problem under control. >> so there. chris cillizza, this has been an internal argument among supporters of more action. you've got kirsten gillibrand

versus claire mccaskill. looks like there will be a delayful after the august recess. >> andrea, look. this has picked up more attention earlier this week when rand paul and ted cruz, not usually people who join with someone like kirstin jien gilli on legislation signed on to the idea of taking the sexual assault cases outside the chain of military command. claire mccaskill obviously does not want to be seen as someone defending the status quo, which she has spoken out against. i think honestly what it points to, this is not as simple an issue as you might think. carl levin, another democrat, is the chairman of the committee and sort of chose the legislation that kept it within the military chain of command. kirsten gillibrand doing an end run around that.

she now has 34 co-sponsors for this piece of legislation. >> on another kukt abosubject a women and power. i talk to kirsten gillibrand yesterday on "morning joe" about how republican and democratic women are coming together on this subject and other subjects, women in the house and the senate arguing for more women in politics. one of the subjects you'll see. i discussed with nancy pelosi in our interview. any question in your mine about hillary clinton and whether or not she is organizing a run? >> no. but maybe when is the only question in my mind. look, something could change. she could make a decision not to but it certainly looks like a launch. you you look at this issue. we've talked about this before i think of the attitude of the senate towards taking seriously sexual assault in the military nap would not be happening if we didn't have 17 women senators -- 20 women senators. i don't know where that number came from. >> was 17, moving upward.

it is 20. >> now 165 years after women first kick off their campaign for the vote and other rights in seneca falls, new york, women are now feeling beseiged particularly by new restrictions on their right to reproductive predom and health care. in texas today pick, rick perry signed it into law. >> it has been really a joy to travel clout the country and see and hear women come forth with the aspirations that they have and the challenges that they face and that's why this week on the 165th anniversary of the seneca falls convention about the equality of women, with my colleagues we will be launching our "when women succeed, america succeeds, an economic agenda for america's women and families." president obama has put forth universal preschool which is a

big part of it but we want to do even more than that. and all of it comes together so that women can have their choices. they can start a business as the entrepreneurial spirit of with women is tremendous. it is the fastest growing number of businesses are those started by women. so women are interested in how they can succeed, how their work will be rewarded in the workplace, balancing family and work is important to them. >> we spoke of seneca falls. we actually found an illustration, editorial cartoon of the first women rights convention back in 1848. you might be interested in the seneca falls cartoon, it said representing feminist speaker denouncing men at the first women's rights convention in july of 1848. you're a mother, you're a grandmother. when you became speaker, you had all the children coming up on the podium. do you think of yourself as more of a cheryl sandberg "lean in" kind of person, orren ann marie

slaughter women can't have it all at the same time? where do you come down on these sort of -- >> i come down as myself and that's what i tell young women and women new into the workplace. be yourself. whatever the formulation is that works for you. that's what you should do. i became involved in playing a political role really as an extension of my role as a mother. i saw all the opportunity that my five children have and i wanted other children to have that opportunity, too, and i wanted my children to grow up in a community, a society, a country where all children had an opportunity. and that certainly is not happening when 1 in 4 children go to sleep hungry at night, 1 in 5 flivz poverty. but if we lift up women in the workplace we go a long way to helping our children. >> women in politics. senator gillibrand suggested that having more women in the senate has made a big difference. >> yes, indeed. >> there is a critical mass talking about sexual assaults in

the military. in a way that is getting action and getting a response for the first time. >> i completely agree with her, and she, a young woman, having children when she was in congress and now had her children are getting a little bigger but they're still small children. i'm so very proud of her and other women of all ages but i am in awe of these young women with young children tho cwho can bal it all. i came to congress after my children were almost all in college. but here's the thing. believe that if you reduce the role of money in politics and increase the level of civility in politics, you will, by an large, increase -- overwhelmingly increase the number of women who are attracted to it, who will take the chance of running for office. and that is the most wholesome thing that we can do for our country is the increased involvement of women in politics and government. >> senator gillibrand told me

that in the senate at least she's found that women come together across party lines, that they find areas of agreement and that they work better among each other than some of their male colleagues. have you found that in the house? >> we used to be. right now there is a pretty hard line between parties in the house because there's a right wing ideological anti-government attitude on the part of the republicans. but there are some issues that hopefully we can come together on. i hope it would be better. it used to be better. we have to separate out some issues where women can work together. but we all have a healthy respect for each other because whatever your party is or your philosophy, everybody knows, it is really a challenge for women to attain power and to exist balancing family and power. >> claire mccaskill has signed on to ready for hillary. are you ready for hillary?

i think the country is ready for hillary. i certainly hope that she will choose to run. i think if she does, she will win. i think -- and when she does, i think she'll be the best prepared person to enter the white house in decades. with all due respect to everybody else. but who has the credentials. she has in terms of being a first lady and having a front row seat and active participation at the highest level of government and power, a united states senator, secretary of state. even first lady of arkansas. every level of experience. so i think the knowledge she has gives her great judgment. the respect she commands signals that she would be successful should she decide to run and i think it would be a great thing for our country to have a woman president. always thought it would be easier to elect a woman to be president of the united states than to be speaker of the house. when i became speaker, i thought how could it be in this bastion

of -- well, it has been dominated by males for over 200 years and the last thing you would say to somebody is we need a woman speaker, because you would completely turn them off. but one thing and another i became speaker. but i know that the american people are way ahead of the politicians in washington when it comes to women being elevated to the highest levels of pow person that's the response i got from the american people, from fathers of daughters saying now i know my daughter can go even further. >> so if she were to choose to run, if she decides to run, would you be a hillary clinton supporter? >> i have a habit of supporting people when they decide to run and i've said very positive things about -- >> you've left little doubt of where you stand when it comes to hillary clinton. >> i'd be absolutely thrilled. but the thing about hillary -- i'd be thrilled because she would be the first woman president. but separate and apart from the

fact she's a woman, she would be a great president and that's really the standard that we have to hold everyone to. >> so despite all of her virtues and her experience, you've got a sitting vice president who's been a senator longer than almost anyone and has had enormous experience, yet if those two people were running against each other for the nomination, hillary clinton would be the person who resonates more with you? >> well, hillary clinton has run for president before. that makes a tremendous difference. i highly recommend it to women, if you want to be in politics in any way, run for president because you will have a built-in public relations campaign for yourself. so what else you you do next, if you become speaker or something, people will know you. otherwise, you come into a role and you are at the mercy of any negative thing anybody can say without having been given the inoculation of this is who i am, this is what i believe, this is

how i do things. joe biden is a magnificent leader in our country. there is absolutely no question he would be a great president. he made that point when he ran for president himself. so that's -- he's vice president. he has tremendous experience. and some of the issues that we are work on now, whether it is gun safety, with whether it is issues that relate to immigration, the growth of our economy, the creation of jobs, he's been there and done that over and over again for decades. both in the senate and now for a long time as vice president. so we are very blessed to have many excellent choices, and not just limited to those two. >> as we just heard, nancy pelosi made it abundantly clear who she's backing in 016 if hillary clinton does decide to run. in a revealing interview push accomplished today in qg magazine, vice president biden saysky die a happy man never having been president of the united states of america, but it doesn't mean i won't run. we'll be back with part two of

our exclusive interview with nancy pelosi. peach country. it's a fresh-over. we want you to eat some peaches and tell us what you think. they're really juicy. it must have just come from the farm. this right here is ideal for me. walmart works directly with growers to get you the best quality produce they've ever had. what would you do if i told you all this produce is from walmart? wow! is it really? (laughter) find fresh peaches and all your quality produce. backed by our 100% money back guarantee. walmart. if you are taking pills for type 2 diabetes and still not getting the blood sugar control you want, call now or visit controlispossible.com for your free chance at control kit. call for yourself and those that depend on you most. you'll get the facts about insulin and how adding insulin can help reduce blood sugar. a meal-planning guide that makes sense of portion

sizes, carb counting and shows how you can still enjoy many of the foods you love. and there's the award-winning gomeals app to help track nutritional information, physical activity and blood sugar. don't put off calling. get your free chance at control kit and a better understanding of how adding insulin can help lower blood sugar. call now because she'll always depend on you. wi drive a ford fusion. who is healthier, you or your car? i would say my car. probably the car. cause as you get older you start breaking down. i love my car. i want to take care of it. i have a bad wheel - i must say. my car is running quite well. keep your car healthy with the works. $29.95 or less after $10 mail-in rebate at your participating ford dealer. so you gotta take care of yourself? yes you do. you gotta take care of your baby? oh yeah!

more now of my exclusive interview with house democratic leader nancy pelosi on the battle over tougher gun laws, her reaction to the zimmerman verdict, an as texas governor rick perry sign those new restrictions on abortion clinics into law only today, reproductive freedom. >> now you mentioned gun safety. i interviewed gabby giffords an mark kelly recently and they were frustrated, frankly, that they haven't seen more leadership from the white house in getting legislative action all these months after newtown. >> i hope they're not frustrated with the white house because i know that this is a high priority for the president. he has said very clearly we're not backing down on this and so it is a question of what the timing is to come back with a

background check bill supported by what in 80%, 90% -- >> some people wonder why he couldn't persuade four democratic senators including one who was actually max baucus decided to leave the senate. doesn't the president of the united states have enough clout? >> that would not have been enough. in other words, the focus on the democrats when 90% of the democrats voted for the bill and 90% of the republicans voted against the bill. i think there's some room for getting some votes on the republican side as much as i would have liked the democrats to vote for it. it still would not have been enough. one of the things -- one of the statements that people make is, well, it's not going any place in the house so why would we take political jeopardy of doing this if it is not going any place. well, i would disabuse them of that notion. >> are you not giving up on guns. >> we are never going away until

we can pass this background check bill because it will affect so much in terms of gun violence prevention in our country. even more than banning assault weapons. 500-some people -- as horrible as it be, and as obvious as it is that they should be banned, nonetheless the background check protects more people. >> what was your reaction to the george zimmerman verdict in the trayvon martin case? >> i was very sad. i'm a grandmother. i have grandchildren who are 16, 16 1/2 and i think of someone who's 17 years old as a child. i thought -- well, i'll leave it to others to take the lead on commenting on it but i was very sad that it happened in the first place, that the family has lost their son. i would like to have seen zimmerman on the stand if he had -- there were only two people who know what happened. one of them is no longer with us. the other one didn't take the stand. butnyway, i think all of the

cautions for calmness and let's learn from this are probably very good cautions. you asked me my reaction. i reacted as a grandmother. >> and immigration. are you giving up hope or do you think democrats could support a piecemeal approach if it has some path to citizen? >> i never give up hope. let's just put that aside. i never give up hope. we have to have an immigration bill. status quo is totally unacceptable. >> is border security enough? >> when you say border security -- is that an immigration bill? >> no. if the republicans come up with something that just spends more money on controlling the border but doesn't have a path to citizenship? >> well, let's put it this way. you asked another question, you said if you go piecemeal. it is okay to take a bill in parts an just have people vote on separate parts of it, whether it is border security, whether it is h1b visas, the business

visas with, whether it is path to citizenship. but at the end of the day to have to come together in comprehensive immigration reform because none of the rest of it really settles the challenge that faces our country. the challenge that faces our country is that over 10 million people live in the shadow. we are -- our economy as the congressional budget office has said, it will help reduce the deficit. others have said stimulate the economy an really it is who we are as a people that we say america is a place that doesn't have different levels of being an american. there isn't even second class citizens because there wouldn't be citizens under some plans that some have. but that we have an america that has a full benefit of the flowering of all the people in our country. so i think the -- this is one of those things where abraham lincoln saying public sentiment of is everything. the election of 2012, 70% of

hispanics voted democratic for the president, an for congress, sent a very eloquent mess animal to the republicans that democratic is our destiny. we cannot ignore this major part of our population. >> there have been so many setbacks in legislatures and capitals around the country on reproductive rights and women's health issues. where do you see that? >> what is most astonishing i think was to me when i came to congress and, as i told people, they didn't believe me, really, not to sound partisan about this but the republicans in congress and a few democrats don't believe in contraception or family planning. i'm catholic, i go to church regularly, i had five children in six years. i want anybody who's had five children almost exactly to the day in six years to talk to me about that.

this is women's health. reproductive part of us is a part of our health and obviously young women. so how can they say that we're not going to be doing contraception or we're not going to be doing family planning and so people focus on the most extreme cases in terms of terminating a pregnancy. but what is at risk is the discretion of a woman to make judgments about the size and timing of her family. it is respect to the judgment women about what is good for them, for their families, for their health, which is important to their families. i think that we have to -- the reality is that people in our country do practice birth control and use contraception. i don't know whether my colleagues need a lesson in the birds and the bees. i just really don't get it but they don't get the fact that i am so open in my comments about

it. but really, out of respect for women and their judgment an their values and their own honoring their responsibilities to their families, this should not even be a political issue. >> nancy pelosi. coming up later, we will go to south africa for mandela day. on nelson mandela's 95th birthday today, from secretary-general ban ki-moon, bill clinton and jesse jackson all paid tribute to his legacy. >> he said they can take everything to you. they took the best years of my life except your mind and your heart. those things i decided not give away. he looked at me and smiled and he said, neither should you. that is a lesson that every human being on earth had better learn sooner or later.

body at rt tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, like celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions, or stomach and intestine problems,

such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. don't take celebrex if you have bleeding in the stomach or intestine, or had an asthma attack, hives, other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history. and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion.

f-f-f-f-f-f-f. lac-lac-lac. he's an actor who's known for his voice. but his accident took that away. thankfully, he's got aflac. they're gonna give him cash to help pay his bills so he can just focus on getting better. we're taking it one day at a time. one day at a time. [ male announcer ] see how the duck's lessons are going at aflac.com

more than two years into the rebellion against bashar al assad the regime is winning. today at a refugee camp secretary kerry got an earful about the syrian refugees about the failure of the u.s. to deliver on the promise of weapons to the rebels. >> i think they are frustrated and angry at the world for are not stepping in and helping. i don't think it is as cut and dry as sim pam ple as some of t look at it. if i were in their shoes i'd be looking for help wherever i could find it. >> chairman rogers, thank you for being with us. from all of the reporting it appears that proposals went to the hill and both the house and senate intelligence committees put a hold on everything until we know who the rebels are and where the weapons are going. can you explain? >> i can't talk about the

classified programs but i can tell through has been a lot of xwe concern about stated goals and making sure any plans met those goals. so through all of those discussions i think both the house and the senate, any committee here, would take its responsibility quite seriously and it is a serious step on how we move forward to try to have a positive impact in syria. there were a lot of questions. i will tell you that we are still working through some things on that and there's no one here standing in the way of what i think the administration wants to do but there are very clear concerns from both parties in both chambers about the way forward. i think we are trying to address that. >> mr. chairman with, you and i have had many conversations on this and other subjects, always in a completely respectful and collegial way. while we sit here, refugees are saying to john kerry they're

dying, assad is winning and they are losing the war while we are safe in our battle stations in washington, d.c. >> but you remember those conversations, andrea. there are those of us, me included, who said we are a year-and-a-half too late. we've been pushing, trying to nudge the administration to make a decision earlier. what happened was the longer it went the more confusing the battlefield came. you can't come in after the fire of the house is going and say, why didn't somebody put it out? the problem is you have to deal with the fire as you find it. so remember, this is important to get this right as to do anything at all. no one today in congress is standing in the way of the administration doing what they have expressed an interest in doing. that isn't happening. however, there were passionate discussions about how you do that. if your intended goal is to change and have a positive influence in syria is what presented gets you to that goal. there were many in congress in both parties, in both chambers

who said no. and if you're going to put the good name of the united states at risk you you better do it right. i was arguing forring earlier to prevent what we now know ss a rising welcome membership, some 6,000 in the country. you have iran using this as a prom zi war now. that wasn't happening a year-and-a-half ago because there was no action. that has hezbollah active lly engaging. this is a hard, conapplica comp problem. >> while the united states did not do what you were suggesting, qatar and other groups, private funding so al qaeda-supported groups. so the complexion of the rebel forces have really changed.

they're killing each other off. there have been all sorts of assassinations. are you saying to you that it is too late to arm the rebels? >> i am not saying it is too late. no one in congress today is standing in the way of what the administration wants to do. the difference is the way it's going to happen. i think you'll find lots of requirements and different players of oversight that we might not have seen before based on the challenging facts on the ground. and there are no good outcomes here. again you have al qaeda elements there that have attached themselves to secular units. that's dangerous. have you every flavor of terrorist organization operating now in syria. people coming from all over the world, including europe, other places to join a jihad fight which means eventually if they're not killed they're going home. all of those challenges are happening. we've lost support of the arab league. we lost support of the opposition, "we quarterback the being the united states. we need to reengage in that. that's very clear. i think secretary kerry to his credit came to the hill and made

some really good and compelling arguments. i think the administration an congress have agreed on a way forward an that's happened. some of these things are going to take a little longer. it is not because somebody is standing in the way on capitol hill though, that's important to know. but remember, we are very late to this game an this game has changed dramatically over the last year-and-a-half. >> so if we were to use our own covert forces to train and vet the rebels, would that make people on the hill meal for comfortable about getting weapons into their hands? >> well, i do believe that the united states should use its intelligence capabilities, its training capabilities and itsable its ab ability to vet. that would be an incredibly important thing to do in order to get weapons into the right hand and start building

relationships so when assad goes -- and he is going to go at some pointpy with a we don't want is a two or three-year fail-mate with the onslaught of civilians. we want to turn the tide an ghald relatiand build the relationship and trust so we can positively influence the outcome. remember, we have large caches of individual weapons, worry me every day, an chemical weapons. off-shoots of al qaeda. that's concerning to not only us but to our allies as well. >> thank you very much, congressman. right now happening on capitol hill, house democratic leader nancy pelosi announcing her new initiative on women and the economy. the agenda includes mazing the minimum wage, affordable child care and passing the pare check fairness act. >> -- the backbone of our

democracy. and when all women succeed, we know america succeeds. our initiative on the 165 years of progress since seneca falls is -- we today want to address the economic challenges facing america's women and families. to do so we will hear from congresswoman rosa deloro. you all know her ready? happy birthday! it's a painting easel!

the tide's coming in! this is my favorite one. it's upside down. oh, sorry. (woman vo) it takes him places he's always wanted to go. that's why we bought a subaru. (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. her long day of pick ups and drop offs begins with arthritis pain... and a choice. take up to 6 tylenol in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. all aboard. ♪

congestion, for it's smog. but there are a lot of people that do ride the bus. and now that the busses are running on natural gas, they don't throw out as much pollution to the earth. so i feel good. i feel like i'm doing my part to help out the environment. . the you shall use of race and justice continue to dominate the national conversation after saturday's verdict in the george zimmerman trial. trayvon martin's parents spoke exclusively in a live interview with matt lauer this morning on "today." >> do you think the legal system failed trayvon?

>> i think it failed trayvon to a certain degree. i think we let the process take its course. we didn't get the verdict that we were looking for because we wanted him to be held accountable. our focus has continued to change. i mean first it was for the arrest. then it was for a conviction. so now, you know, we moved on to a different focus. but, yes, i think we were disappointed. >> how can you let a killer of an unarmed child go free? what would your verdict have been had it been your child? >> members of the congress am black caucus are drafting proposals to combat what they see as a u.s. justice system that continues to discriminate against minorities. joining me now, the head of the congressional black caucus, congressman martha fudge of ohio. congresswoman, thank you for being with us. what can you done legislatively?

>> i think that what we have to do is have a broader discussion. this really isn't about trayvon. is about things like racial profile, things that we don't talk about in a way that we should. this is about a young kid being killed because he was black walking down a street. we have to have a bigger discussion about race. we have to look at laws that affect negatively young people who are just being young people. and certainly we need to have a total look at our system of justice. it has not been in any way reviewed probably for almost the last 40 years. we need to take a look at laws like stand your ground and other laws. that's not the only one. there are many of them that i think are negatively impacting communities of color. >> there was criticism of eric holder for speaking out and for speaking of his own experiences, when he told his teenage son what he experienced, even as a federal prosecutor in georgetown. this is when he was addressing

the naacp. >> i think the real tragedy behind trayvon, not just an innocent, young black kid was killed, is that we saw for the first time -- at least in recent history -- a lack of respect, a lack of respect for humanity. we lost all of our values. for us to say that a young man was killed and people to joke about, well, did he it to himself, it was his fault, make jokes about the justice system, i think that we as a nation have lost our way. we have lost our moral compass. i think that eric holder was right. he is drawing back on the experiences that have gotten him to the place he is today, because he understands that this country has had a history of racial bias, and even though we thought we had gotten beyond that, andrea, as we approach the 50th anniversary of the march on washington, we see we have not. >> and that that quotation from the nra, from chris cox, the

executive director of the nra, institute for legislate offive action, was that the attorney general fails to understand that self-defense is not a concept, it is a fundamental human right to send a message that legitimate self-defense is to blame is unconscionable. it demonstrates once again that this administration will exploit tragedies to push their political agenda. >> let me just say this, andrea. did not trayvon martin have the right to defend himself as well? i don't have a problem with defense self-. what i have a problem with is murder. i have a problem with a kid walking home in his neighborhood who was stalked, hoimwho i'm sus in fear, doesn't know what's going on. he has a right to defend himself as well. >> marsha fud >> marcia fudge, thank you very much. tonight on "politics nation," it is an exclusive interview with trayvon martin's parents. [ dad ] a new passat.

[ dad ] 0% apr. 60 months. done and done. [ dad ] in that driveway is a german-engineered piece of awesome. that i got for 0% apr. good one, dad. thank you, dalton. [ male announcer ] it's the car you won't stop talking about. ever. hurry in to the volkswagen best. thing. ever. event. and get 0% apr for 60 months, now until july 31st. that's the power of german engineering. woman: what do you mean, homeowners insurance

doesn't cover floods? [ heart rate increases ] man: a few inches of water caused all this? [ heart rate increases ] woman #2: but i don't even live near the water. what you don't know about flood insurance may shock you -- including the fact that a preferred risk policy starts as low as $129 a year. for an agent, call the number that appears on your screen.

south africa is celebrating and so are nelson mandela's admirers around the world. the 95th birthday today, as family members are reporting what they describe as major progress in nelson mandela's recovery from a lung infection. ron, a big day of celebrations. what more do we know about nelson mandela's health?andrea, was a lot of celebration and a lot of relief. many feared this celebration would not happen because mandela's been in such grave condition for the last 41 days. he is still listed in critical, but stable, condition. though today when president zuma visited the hospital he said mandela was smiling and he in a statement did not use the word "critical," so there was a moment where some of us were think is his condition had been upgrade, but it has not. family visiting for the past week or more are saying he is

attentive, sitting up. today we understand that when the family went to say happy birthday and present him with a big card, a aware and very prese they were there visiting him. so the word has been encouraging and a number of the relatives have suggested that he might be coming home soon, but the doctors are still saying that they want to see a longer period of sustained improvement and sustained response to medication or other treatments that he's receiving. so he is still here at the hospital and still the celebration continues out here on into the night. there were during the day waves of people, hundreds upon hundreds of people here singing happy birthday, singing songs all just happy to celebrate another day in the life of this great man. andrea? >> ron allen there for all the celebrations. thank you so much and for some progress to be reported on nelson mandela's health. thanks, ron. and in southern california

thousands of residents are now scrambling to get out of the path of a rapidly growing wild fire near palm springs. strong winds are fanning the flames and driving the so-called mountain fire towards the desert town of ottawa. it has grown to 35 square miles. more than a dozen homes have already been destroyed. firefighters are combatting the blaze in triple digit temperatures today. the better , he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses.

the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, they help save you up to thousands in out-of-pocket costs. call today to request a free decision guide. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients... plus, there are no networks, and you'll never need a referral to see a specialist. join the millions who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp... and provided by unitedhealthcare insurance company, which has over 30 years of experience behind it. with all the good years ahead, look for the experience and commitment to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide.

so which political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours. chris is back with us. chris, we're talking about, first of all, the confirmation now. party line vote 64-46 of the new labor secretary. this made possible by the deal where harry reid didn't pull the nuclear option and they were able to get some confirmations done. >> right. this is all part of that deal announced. richard cord ray was the first as the financial protection

bureau director. he was the first piece of this. perez is a piece of this. i think we knew this was going to be a party line vote. if you go back to early in the week and you watched mitch mcconnell on the floor, which because i'm a giant nerd i did, he said this is an extreme nominee, this is someone who shouldn't be the labor secretary. i think the concession was allowing the vote. >> but, chris, there is a sort of after effect which is that mitch mcconnell went before his caucus, we are told, and according to several people who are present, he blamed them, mccain and others who are working with the white house to work out a compromise, work with harry reid. he said he could have gotten a better deal, there was some barnyard profanity exchanged with other republicans, supposedly senator corker. there seems to be a leadership crisis for mitch mcconnell in all of this. >> look, andrea, as soon as harry reid went to the floor to announce a deal had been made earlier this week and he purposefully pulled out john mccain for praise, that wasn't

going to sit well. remember, mitch mcconnell and john mccain have been on opposite sides. i don't think they're buddies. >> mccain had 90 minutes with the president talking about foreign policy last night. chris, always great to see you. >> thanks, andrea. >> that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." my colleague tam ran hall has what's next on ""news nation."" >> the parents of trayvon martin urge president obama to go through his son's case with, quote, a fine tooth comb. this as the congressional black caucus is reportedly working on a flurry of bills in response to george zimmerman's acquittal. can they expect bipartisan support. we'll talk with james clay burn. plus, a witness who was set to testify in the whitey bulger case this week turns up dead. we'll tell you what police are telling the victim's family about the possible cause of death. plus, mcdonalcdonald's taki

heath for a financial planning guide designed to help out its employees. they argue the guide is not only impractical, they have called it laughable, insulting, insensitive. we'll show you the budget mcdonald's recommended for its employees. coming up next on "news nation" and it's our gut check. distrib" "and one of the most efficient trucking networks," "with safe, experienced drivers." "we work directly with manufacturers," "eliminating costly markups," "and buy directly from local farmers in every region of the country." "when you see our low prices, remember the wheels turning behind the scenes, delivering for millions of americans, everyday. "dedication: that's the real walmart"

in cities like charlotte,ing. atlanta, and chicago, we're revving people up to take a lap around the legendary nascar race track with drivers from the coca-cola racing family. coca-coca family track walks give thousands of race fans

the chance to get out, get moving, and have fun... all along the way. it's part of our goal to inspire more than three million people to rediscover the joy of being active this summer. see the difference all of us can make... together. hi, everyone. i'm tamron hall. "news nation" is following trayvon martin's family's request directed at president obama. the first time since the verdict. sabrina and tracy martin want to discuss the jury's decision. martin's mother was asked what she wanted the president to do. >> that's pretty tough. to say the least, at least investigate what happened. at least go through it with a fine tooth comb and just make sure all the t's were crossed and all the